


Local Mall a Danger Hotspot

by BorealLights



Series: Mall Cryptid Geralt [3]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Canon-Typical Violence, Cryptid Geralt, M/M, Mild Horror, Pre-Slash, liminal spaces
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26225080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BorealLights/pseuds/BorealLights
Summary: The feeling of being watched comes back, right as something moves in Jaskier’s peripheral vision. He whirls around, but there’s nothing there, though he spends several long seconds waiting. It must have been his imagination, and he turns back, continuing on.Nothing happens for at least a minute, and he lets himself slowly start to relax… until he hears a strange tapping sound, like a dog’s claws on tile. Again, there’s nothing behind him, but he knows he couldn’t have imagined that. Jaskier tries to swallow around the lump in his throat.Jaskier returns to the mall once more
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Mall Cryptid Geralt [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819087
Comments: 109
Kudos: 211
Collections: The Witcher Alternate Universes





	Local Mall a Danger Hotspot

**Author's Note:**

> So, first off I want to thank everyone who commented on the last fic, this might not have ever been finished without your support!
> 
> Then I want to thank pretty much everyone on the Geraskier Discord server for putting up with my hundreds of questions.
> 
> Finally a shout out to my beta Mia, who is here at firelord_zutara but I’m too tired to link it right now
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

Going back to the mall after his two harrowing experiences probably takes a lot of guts, or maybe stupidity. Jaskier feels fairly safe this time though. He’s surrounded by friends, sitting in a comfortable seat, watching “Destiny Without Honor,” which is honestly scarier than he thought it would be. Who knew racist B-grade horror films about samurai could actually be legitimately terrifying? Not him.

He leaves the theater laughing with Priscilla and Shani, reaching for his phone to shoot a text off to Zoltan, but comes up empty.

“Fuck, I must have dropped my phone in the theater. And I gotta piss, so I’ll be a bit,” Jaskier swears as he steps back into the theater, jogging back towards where they saw the film. An exhausted looking employee lets him back in, and it doesn’t take long for him to find his phone under his seat. The last employee hurries him out of the restroom with a glare before locking up, ignoring his apologies.

He isn’t too worried when he exits the theater to find everything deserted. Priscilla texted and said they would wait for him in the car- which is honestly fair, the empty mall is pretty creepy. The last few theater employees filter out through the doors, bidding each other good night. His shoes thump against the floor as he walks, echoing loudly in the silence. It’s eerie, and he gives a small shiver. It feels like he’s being watched, but when he looks around he’s alone.

“...There’s nobody there, right?” He hesitantly calls out, another chill going down his spine. He doesn’t think he’s alone, and that scares him. Something moves in the corner of his eye, but when he whirls around to look, it’s nothing. He’s just seeing things. Probably. He takes a deep breath. “I’m just making things up. There’s nothing there,” Jaskier says out loud, like declaring it will make it true. His voice echoes through the empty corridor, bouncing off the walls and ceiling. Nothing happens, so he relaxes slightly, then keeps walking. His shoes scuff and squeak against the floor, so if there is something out there, it wouldn’t be hard for it to find him. The fluorescent lights hum annoyingly in the background, overly loud in the eerie silence.

Then, with a click, they all go out, plunging Jaskier into darkness.

It takes a few seconds for his eyes to adjust, greedily drawing in what little light there is from the overcast moon, feebly streaming through the large skylights. Slowly, far too slowly for his liking, he’s able to discern basic shapes around him. After a couple more seconds things gain more detail- and eventually he can see well enough to navigate, albeit halting and clumsily.

The feeling of being watched comes back, right as something moves in his peripheral vision. He whirls around, but there’s nothing there, though he spends several long seconds waiting. It must have been his imagination, and he turns back, continuing on. Of course, the movie theater is all the way on the opposite end of the mall from where Priscilla parked, because that’s the closest to her job at the pretzel place. He has a lot of mall to traverse.

As Jaskier passes by one of the islands full of plants, he swears they rustle- but when he looks, the plants are still. Regardless, he backs away from it, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Nothing happens, so he continues on, glaring at the shadows that envelop most of the hall. The plants rustle again, but still, there’s nothing there when he looks. Heart pounding, he starts walking a little faster.

Nothing happens for at least a minute, and he lets himself slowly start to relax… until he hears a strange tapping sound, like a dog’s claws on tile. Again, there’s nothing behind him, but he knows he couldn’t have imagined that. Jaskier tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. It’s fine, he’s almost at the food court. Another shadow darts by him, and Jaskier nearly screams.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, there’s nothing there,” He mutters to himself… but that’s what he’s thought before, too. He takes a deep breath. “Geralt I really hope this works and you can hear me but I think there’s something in the mall with me, I’m by the food court.” Jaskier says as loudly as he dares, which isn’t louder than a stage whisper. Nothing happens, no white-haired man (or whatever he is) comes charging to his rescue. So either Geralt didn’t hear him, he’s caught up in something else, or there’s really nothing there, Geralt knows this, and isn’t bothering to come.

“Yeah. It. It was probably just my imagination,” he tells himself as he starts walking again, stepping into the just as dimly-illuminated room where the food court is. All around him the chairs are put up on top of the tables, creating a hazardous forest of chair legs that he has to navigate.

“It wasn’t just your imagination, little snack.” Something growls from behind him. Jaskier lets out a shriek as he turns around. The clouds over the moon must thicken, because the room gets darker. He can barely make out a large mass standing in front of him. The being has oddly bent legs, and disproportionately long arms, ending in long, clawed fingers. A tail curls up from behind it, and two triangles rest atop the thing’s head.

The clouds clear, and Jaskier gets a glimpse of glittering black eyes above a long snout filled with razor sharp teeth. Matted gray fur covers a muscular body, save for a pair of tattered khaki shorts. Jaskier knows enough about popular culture to know what he’s staring at.

“Oh, what big eyes you have.” Jaskier says, the first thing that comes to his mind. There’s a second of silence, before the beast throws its head back with howling laughter. When it calms down, it grins.

“The better to see you with, little snack.”

“A-And, what big ears you have.” Jaskier takes a step back. The monster takes a step forward.

“All the better to hear your screams, little snack.”

“What… what a big nose you have.” His voice cracks in fear near the end.

“All the better to smell your fear, little snack.”

“...Big teeth,” Jaskier manages to squeak out. The creature’s grin grows.

“All the better to eat you with, little snack.”

“...What. What big claws you have?” He stumbles back, again being followed.

“All the better to tear your flesh from your bones, little snack.”

“I don’t want that.” Jaskier croaks out.

“You don’t get a choice.”

“Geralt?! I could use some help!” Jaskier calls in desperate fear as the hulking figure walks towards him, claws clacking. He fumbles with his phone, trying to turn on the flashlight, but opens the camera app instead.

“Fuck,” he whispers.

It chuckles lowly, more of an amused growl.

“Your Witcher can’t help you, boy. He’s far too busy dealing with my kin to save you.” The beast snarls out, clearly enjoying this.

It’s closer now, almost within grabbing distance.

Jaskier can smell the foulness of its breath, and a stench like a wet dog.

He closes his eyes, prays to god this will work, and presses the shutter button.

The flash goes off and the thing howls, Jaskier opening his eyes just in time to see it clutch at its eyes in agony. He doesn’t hesitate, dropping his phone to grab one of the food court chairs before swinging it full force at the thing. The chair dents but the creature goes down. For good measure Jaskier tosses the chair at it before vaulting behind the counter of the Sbarro. He’s pretty sure the place (and all the others) should be closed with those sliding shutters, but he’s not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. There’s two doors either side and he wrenches one open before running to the other and opening it as well, scrambling into the adjoining Cajun place.

Absently, he wonders why it serves the same food as the Chinese place.

Tucking himself into a (hopefully) hidden corner, he holds his breath and waits. It isn’t long before the beast snarls, clearly enraged. 

Jaskier forces himself to take slow, shallow breaths, tipping his head back so his breath is quieter.

He hears metal chairs clang to the floor as the beast rampages.

“You can’t hide from me, little snack! I can smell you and your fear! I can hear your heartbeat!” It threatens, claws clacking unevenly on the floor as it stumbles.

Jaskier really hopes it’s making that up.

He has a feeling it’s not.

Maybe he should have grabbed a weapon or something to defend himself, but it’s too late now. All Jaskier can do is hide and hope Geralt finds him soon.

The click-clack of claws draws closer, the creature taking in long breaths as it tries to sniff him out. Jaskier can smell it, and he bites back a whimper.

Closer. Closer.

The steps veer away and Jaskier can barely hold in his sigh of relief. He has to move, but he can’t be seen, so he gets on his hands and knees and, as quietly as he can, makes his way through the open door. The floor is sticky under his hands, and he’s sure the beast can hear his scuffling. There’s an empty space under the counter, and he stuffs himself in there as quietly as he can, ears straining to hear the creature, but all is silent. Unsettlingly so.

“Found you!” The beast is there, its putrid breath right in his face, a clawed hand dragging him out from his hiding place by his shirt. Jaskier struggles, but his punches and kicks do little against the monster’s bulk as it hauls him over the counter. It drops him unceremoniously onto the ground, laughing as he scrambles away. “Go on, little snack, run, you can’t escape me!”

Jaskier hauls himself time his feet before doing just that, dodging around the tables as he heads towards the doors. Maybe if he gets out he can get away.

The beast lets him get a decent head start before chasing after him. In no time at all it lands in front of him, blocking the exit with a toothy grin.

Jaskier quickly reverses, heading for the only other way out, back out into the mall.

Again, it lets him go before bounding after him.

Jaskier is terrified, tears blurring his vision as the process repeats. There’s nowhere else for him to go, and nobody’s coming to save him. If Geralt isn’t here by now, he’s not going to come.

Finally, he collapses to his knees, the adrenaline wearing off as he sobs. It’s hopeless, he’s going to die here. He doesn’t even look up as the creature approaches, sniffing the air greedily.

“Mmm… I love the smell of despair… when my prey has given up hope, that’s when they taste best,” It taunts, stopping in front of him. Jaskier doesn’t look up, he doesn’t want to see his death coming.

“Step away from him.” A strong, _familiar_ voice cut through the silence, right as a shield of glowing yellow light surrounds Jaskier, protecting him from the beast’s swipe. He looks up, not daring to hope- but he is rewarded. There, striding into the food court with purposeful steps, is Geralt. His sword out, shining in the wan light of the moon, matching his hair. Golden eyes glow furiously, and his face is set in a fierce snarl. This time, there is no twist of fear in Jaskier’s gut, only relief.

“Witcher.” The beast spits, turning to face Geralt. “I thought my pack would have kept you busy for longer.”

“I left them to my kin as soon as I heard my name,” Geralt continues to walk forward, stopping at the other end of the small empty space in the middle of the food court. He levels his blade at the monster, right as the moon breaks free of the clouds, illuminating him… Jaskier’s heart feels like it skips a beat. Geralt is beautiful, skin glowing as he closes the space between him and the beast in a heartbeat.

It’s terrifying to see the monster easily dodge the swing of his sword, lashing out with its own claws in retaliation. It really had just been playing with him. The two swipe at each other almost too fast for Jaskier to follow. For every hit Geralt manages to get past the beast’s guard, it scores a series of scratches across his armor. They separate and circle each other, eventually ending with Geralt’s back to Jaskier. Iridescent blood drips from several scratches on his unprotected arms, and they’re closing much slower than the first injury Jaskier saw.

Worry starts to seep into his mind.

He’s so caught up in his own head that he almost misses the beast hefting a _fucking table_ and throwing it at Geralt, who rolls out of the way with a curse. The table’s hard plastic top shatters against the glowing shield, which flickers before going out. Jaskier scrambles backwards as the beast races towards him. Geralt swears and makes a strange sign with his fingers, the shield flickering back to life… in that momentary moment of distraction, the creature bodyslams into Geralt, pinning him to the ground and sending his sword skidding across the floor.

It attempts to rip out his throat, but Geralt grabs its jaws, successfully stopping the beast, though he can’t seem to throw it off of him. Jaskier hauls himself to his feet, hands pressing against the golden bubble he finds himself in. Biting his lip so hard it bleeds, he resists the urge to call out. Geralt can’t afford to be distracted right now. Finally, Geralt gets his legs underneath him and kicks the monster off him before getting to his feet, running towards his sword.

The monster snarls and flings a chair at Geralt, obviously taking inspiration from Jaskier’s earlier attempt at getting away. His savior crumples to the ground with a pained grunt. Then Jaskier’s vision is blocked as the beast steps in front of the shield, flexing its claws. It takes a swipe at the golden light, snarling when the strike skids off in a shower of sparks. The shield shudders but doesn’t break, though a crack appears when it strikes again. Jaskier backs away as far as he can, though he knows once the shield breaks he’s a goner.

The monster turns then, grabbing Geralt by the head and slams him against the barrier, which goes out. Jaskier bolts, feeling cowardly for abandoning Geralt. He doesn’t get very far before another shield pops up around him. Jaskier turns around just in time to see Geralt slice the beast’s arm off, freeing himself. It howls in pain, clutching at the stump as dust pours from the wound. Without missing a beat, Geralt takes the creature’s head off with a clean slice of his sword. Much like the first monster, it dissolves into a pile of dust that he immediately sets fire to. Somehow.

The shield surrounding Jaskier goes out, and he stumbles forward, eyes locked onto Geralt. Delayed fear is setting in again, now that the adrenaline is gone. Like the first time, a haze settles over his mind, though this time he sees Geralt make another strange sign with his hand.

“ _You’re okay, Jaskier. You’re safe now. The danger is gone. Everything is fine. Relax._ ” Geralt’s voice echoes in Jaskier’s head, and Jaskier feels himself relax, just like he’s told. The haze fades, but the fear doesn’t come back. He smiled gratefully at Geralt, who’s looking at him with surprising warmth.

“You saved me, again. Again. For the third time.” Jaskier’s voice is hoarse, and his knees tremble. Geralt drops his sword to catch Jaskier as all his strength leaves his body, gently guiding him down to the floor, tears coming to his eyes. “I… I don’t know why I’m crying, I’m not scared anymore.”

“You were just in a stressful, dangerous situation. It’s okay to cry, Jaskier,” Geralt assures him, gently rubbing soothing circles on his back. Absently, Jaskier notices that his savior’s wounds are now healed, but can’t really think more on that. “You did so good calling for me, just like I told you to, I’m sorry I didn’t get here quicker.”

“It-it’s okay, I’m just glad you-you made it in time,” he hiccups, feeling a small glow of pride at the praise. He had done as Geralt had asked, hadn’t he? Though now that he thought about it… “You remembered my name.”

“You’re hard to forget, Jaskier,” Geralt grins, revealing overly-sharp canines.

“Ah. That’s. I hope that’s good.”

“It is.”

They sit like that for another few minutes before Jaskier hears his ringtone from somewhere behind him. Shakily standing up, he wobbles over to where he had dropped his phone. Shani’s calling him. He didn’t feel up to talking right now though, so he just lets it ring, even knowing he'll get an earful later.

“Are you all right to go home? I can call you a taxi,” Geralt offers, gently resting a hand on Jaskier’s shoulder.

“Oh, y-yeah. My friends are waiting for me… so I should, uh, I should probably go. Thank you. Again.” Jaskier begins limping towards the door, but Geralt catches his arm.

“Wait. There’s… something about you that attracts trouble, though I don’t think it’s your fault. Next time you come here, before entering, say my name. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you,” Geralt says, face serious. Jaskier feels himself relax at that, it’s not anything bad… just Geralt offering to protect him.

“I… yeah. Thank you.” Jaskier manages to choke out, feeling oddly emotional. Geralt lets him go, watching him carefully as he leaves the mall, Priscilla’s little yellow Volkswagen idling out front. Jaskier mumbles out something about getting locked in the movie theater when the two girls berate him for being late, not willing to talk about what had actually happened- not that they would believe him.

Jaskier sleeps with his light on that night, knowing that waking up to moonlight would only freak him out. He drifts off to dreams of a knight in black armor with shining silver hair.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, please leave me a comment! Even if it’s just emojis! Comments feed my creative machine. Or something.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr!  
> [Regular Blog](https://howdoistormspirit.tumblr.com)  
> [Writing Blog](https://borealwrites.tumblr.com)


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